Aging Workforce Strains Social Security, Medicare

WASHINGTON (AP) — An aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound are straining the long-term finances of Social Security and Medicare, the government's two largest benefit programs.

Those problems will get new attention Monday when trustees who oversee the massive programs release their annual financial reports.

Medicare is in worse shape because of rising health care costs. But the trustees say both programs are on a path to insolvency.

Last year, the trustees projected the Medicare hospital insurance fund would run out of money in 2024. Social Security's retirement fund was projected to run dry in 2038. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office said the disability fund will be drained by in 2016 — two years earlier than last projected — because applications from people losing jobs have spiked.